


Gem Glow

by DriftStuck



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Steven Universe AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-12 04:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3342923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DriftStuck/pseuds/DriftStuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Based on a Tumblr post)<br/>John is born into the world of the Crystal Gems. His mother Sapphire (Jane) gave up her physical form to let him live. He is being taught how to use his powers by the other gems. Such as Carnelian (Dirk), Emerald (Jake), and Rhodonite (Roxy). The world is in trouble, and can only be saved by the Crystal Gems!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Just to show who is like who in this story, Dirk/Carnelian is the Garnet of the group. Jake/Emerald is the Amethyst. Roxy/Rhodonite is the Pearl. Meenah will show up as the Lapis Lazuli and Handmaid as Peridot. The Ancestors in general are gonna be homeworld gems.

_"We are the Crystal Gems. We are Carnelian."_

_"Emerald."_

_"Rhodonite!"_

_"And John!!"_

 

     John ran down to his favorite snack parlor for his favorite snack. Ice Mice. He walks in and sees even the little fridge was gone. He frowns sadly and says "I knew they were gonna run out, but I didn't think so soon!"

"Sorry, John." Jade says with a small smile. "Can I get you anything else?"

John shook his head and sighs as he leaves. He starts heading to the temple where he lived with the other gems. He sees them all in the kitchen. "Hey, guys." he says glumly.

"John, we got you something!" Rhodonite says cheerfully. Emerald puts the mini fridge full of Ice Mice on the counter with a bright grin.

 

     "ICE MICE! You got this for me?!" John says happily.

"Who else would we get them for? Tear one open and dig in already!" Emerald says as John does just that. As he hums in delight at the taste, his gem activates on his stomach and out shows a blue hammer. The others look on in awe.

"Is that my gem weapon?!" John asks in shock. He grins and jumps as he says "Cool!" And the hammer flies into the ceiling and to the sky. Emerald laughs as Rhodonite says "That's one way to get a sun roof."

 

     Carnelian walks over and places a gentle hand on John's shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it soon." he says softly. John nods quietly.

 

     As the day goes on, John decides to ask his fellow gems how they summon their weapons. He goes to Emerald first. "The way I go about it is imagine what feels right for my weapon. Which is my pistols. And the rest came naturally." he says as he summons his pistols from the gems on his hips.

 

     John then goes to Rhodonite who is glad to share what she can. "When I summon my weapon, I think of righteous fury as I summon the gauntlets." she says as she just does so. John feels more confused on what righteous fury is.

 

     Then he finally goes to Carnelian and hopes he has a better idea. "To summon my sword, I just imagine how easy life will be after a slice through my enemy." he says, but finishes with "The feeling is different for everyone, John. I'm sure you noticed the differences between me and the other two. You'll find out for yourself soon enough." John nodded with a small smile, laughing happily when Carnelian ruffles his hair. "Let's go back. I hear Rhodonite is making your favorite dinner tonight." Carnelian says as he leads John home to the temple.


	2. Laser Light Oven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John must help the gems by finding his mom's Laser Light Oven! It's the only thing that can destroy the giant Gravitron in the sky. He'll enlist the help of his father since who else would know where to find it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John's Dad is Dave Egbert. He's a kidswap of Alpha!Bro. He'll be known as D.

     Today was a beautiful day on the beach. John and Emerald went out to get fry bits from their favorite fry place. Rose greeted them with a slight look of distaste. "Let me guess. The bits, right?"  
"Yup!" John said cheerfully.

"Why don't you have a basket of fries like a normal person?" She asks curiously. John blinked before looking at the green skinned man next to him who let out a slight huff. He hit his fists on the counter.  
"The bits! The bits! The bits!" Emerald chanted as John soon joined in. Rose rolls her eyes and put the fry bits in a bag.

"Take them and go." she says in annoyance. John took them as he shared with Emerald.

 

     "Hey, Emerald? Why did you get annoyed when Rose asked why we don't get fries normally." John asked curiously.

"Because it's not nice. And it's not fun to be normal, John. Be weird, because normal is overrated!" Emerald says with a grin as John smiles back.

"Let's enjoy the two suns in the sky!" he cheers as Emerald halts at that.  
"Pardon?" he asks before looking up to see the giant mechanical thing in the sky. "That's no sun!! John, we need to join the other gems QUICK!" he orders as the two run back to the beach to see Carnelian and Rhodonite at the beach already.  
  


     "This is not good! I wish Sapphire was here! Her oven could destroy this thing at once!" Rhodonite fretted as she paced the beach a bit. Once Emerald and John joined them, Carnelian grabbed the shorter boy and threw him at the mechanical thing. John looked at Rhodonite and stopped her. "What does my mom have to do about this?"  
Rhodonite sighs and says "Your mother had a powerful oven that can shoot a blast of heated light at very high distances. With that oven, we could shoot it down... But we don't even know where it is..."  
"Maybe my dad knows!"  
"Maybe, but we'll try other methods first." Rhodonite nodded as Emerald came back on shore and claiming if Carnelian threw him a bit higher he could land some hits... Which Carnelian proceeded to do. John ran to the local record store to see it thankfully empty and his Dad working the shelves. "DAD!" John yelled as he walked in.

 

     "John! Want to see some of the latest picks from your old man?" The brunette grinned. 

"Later! But we need to find mom's light oven thing! Do you know where it is?"  
"Maybe in storage, but not too sure... Woah, is this a magical thing though? Because I'm not allowed to get involved, John."  
"Dad, we need to find it! Please!"  
"Alright, I can close the store for awhile." he says as he writes a note that he'll be back later and sticks it on the door.

 

     The two jump in the older man's pick up truck and drive to a storage unit. He opens the door and looks at John. "Sorry for the mess, it's been awhile..." he says. He ties a hose around John and says "This'll be used to pull you and the oven out." John nodded and started climbing through. As he does, he breaks a vase.  
"Sorry, Dad! I broke a vase!" he called out.  
"Don't worry, John! If every song were a hit, we wouldn't move forward!" D called back with a smile. John keeps climbing through and marveling at the various things his father used to do. Then he spots the blue oven and says "Dad! I found it!" He ties the hose around the oven and tugs it twice before they are pulled out.

 

     After a few tries with getting the oven in, the two head to the beach. D grimaces at how creepy the sky and the machine looked. That's when his music started playing with John grinning at him. D ruffled his hair with a small smile as they make it to the beach. Emerald was looking a little woozy after so many hits when John calls "WE GOT THE OVEN!" The gems look over in shock before helping get it ready. "How does it work?" John asked.

"You have the sapphire gem now, John. Only you can work it." Carnelian says as suddenly the air feels heavier. John climbs onto the oven and tries to figure out something.

"It's not working!" John whines. 

"We'll figure out something, John!" D calls out.  
"Yeah! Because if every song were a hit, we wouldn't move forward!" John says with a small smile. Suddenly, the oven and John's gem started glowing. The gems came to his side to aim the beam of light about to burst out. Once it did, a beam of blue light led by one that almost resembled Sapphire hit the machine and destroyed it. D looked at the beam with awe and sadness. "I love and miss you too, Sapphire." he says softly as he wipes away a stray tear.


	3. So Many Birthdays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John feels old when he tries to help the gems celebrate their birthdays.

     Upon entering the Gem Archives, Rhodonite and Emerald looked around for things to teach John about gem culture. John was with them and found an old portrait of the others and his mother on a boat. "This is awesome, but why are you guys in old time clothing?" John asks as he looks over the picture. Rhodonite walks over and gasps happily. "I remember that day! We were battling a giant whale to help an ally of ours. And your mother had successfully stopped the whale. As for the clothes, at the time they weren't old timey." she says as she puts the portrait back. John gasps.  
"How old _are_ you guys?!"

"Much older than any human! But we're not immortal. We can due from battle damage just like anyone."  
"You guys must have a lot of candles on your cake when your birthdays come by!"  
"Sorry, Johnny boy. We don't celebrate birthdays." Emerald says with a shrug. That made John gasp. He runs out of the Archives and right into Carnelian. He looks up at him and asks "Is it true that you guys don't celebrate your birthdays?" Carnelian picks him up and shakes his head.  
"It's a human activity, John."  
"Can I at least _try_?" John squeaked out. Rhodonite looked worriedly from Carnelian to Emerald before Carnelian spoke.

"Alright, John. You can try." He puts John down so he can try.

 

     The first birthday party that they were having was for Emerald. John places the birthday crown on Emerald's head and starts singing a birthday song. Rhodonite fidgeted with her hat with a sigh. "I have no idea why humans wear such hats during these days..." she says softly before getting hit by a couple well aimed hats shot by Emerald. "EMERALD!" she shrieks as he cackles and runs from her. John frowns and says "Wait! Wait!" He runs over with a bat and hands it to Emerald.

"Thanks, John! I'll use it right away!" he aimed to use it on Rhodonite.

"NO! You need to use it on the pinata." John says as he ties a blindfold on Emerald and holds the pinata up. He gasps and runs back after a few near misses and hands it to Carnelian who doesn't react to getting hit a few times.  
"Am I close?" Emerald asks as he smacks Carnelian in the face with the bat.

"Higher." Carnelian say in annoyance. Emerald peeks and hits the pinata across the sea. Emerald grins proudly.

"That was a lot of fun! What's next?!"  
"There was supposed to be candy coming out of the pinata..." John says sheepishly.

"What?! You had candy and held it back?!" Emerald whined.

"Don't worry, we'll have more fun at Rhodonite's party!" John declared proudly

 

     John places the birthday crown on Rhodonite's head and places a top hat on his own head. "Let's start with a few jokes!"

"I do like jokes." Rhodonite says with a happy nod.

"Why did Rhodonite throw a clock out a window?" John started.

"I didn't do that!!" Rhodonite says as Emerald gives her a weird look.

"To see time fly!" John grins.

"John... Why are you telling these lies about me?" Rhodonite asks in a hurt tone. John frowns and decides to go ahead with the magic show. He pulls a bouquet of flowers out of his hat and the gems clap as John hands them to Rhodonite. "Awww, thank you,  John!" she says before the flowers squirt water in her face. Emerald starts laughing as Rhodonite whispers something to Carnelian.

"Rhodonite is all partied out and wants to go home." he says. John frowns.  
"Wait! We'll have the most fun at your party, Carnelian!" John says.

 

     John gives Carnelian the crown to put on since he was too tall for John to just put it on as easily. "I saved the best for last! Whistle racers!" The gems looks confused as they looked at the small cars and whistles. "You get in and drive around! You whistle at others so you don't get hurt!" John says cheerfully.

"John, we're too big for those cars." Carnelian says.

"No way! I'm sure you can fit in!" John says.

"You're right! I do fit into it!" Emerald says, having changed his form into that of a toddler. "General Naptime wondering how to get to the baby war!" he says as he drives around in the car. John frowns and looks at the car.  
"Maybe I am too big..."  
"Let's see..." Emerald comes back and tries to put John in a car. "Oh. You are too big." he says as he drives away. John frowns deeply and gets up before starting to walk away.

"John, are you okay?" Rhodonite asks in worry.

"Yeah, I just need some time to think." John says as he walks to the beach.

 

     As John walks, he realizes that everything he thought was fun was starting to seem... Childish. Every thought he had, he started to rapidly age. Soon, he looked like that of a middle aged man when he reaches the Big Donut. "Give me my usual, Karkat." John says tiredly. Karkat looks at him in confusion.

"I don't know who you are, buddy. What usual could you have here?"  
"It's me, Karkat. John Stone Egbert. Laugh all you want, but soon you'll be alone and a waste. A--" He pauses as he sees his reflection in the counter and gasps. He backs away in shock as Jade walks over with a frown.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asks as she leads him to a seat.

"I'm old!" John exclaims. "How did this happen..."

"Would you like some water?" Jade asks.

"No, I need a reverse birthday! I need to get back to the beach!" he says as he carefully gets up. Once he does, his back cracks. He doubles over in pain and makes his way out of the Big Donut after refusing help. He thinks of all the old person things he'd need as he makes his way. His dark hair turns grey and a long beard appears. He makes it to the beach and collapses. Emerald had gone to find John, and gasps as he finds him like this. He carefully picks him up and runs to the others.

 

     "Why are you still wearing the crown?" Rhodonite asks as she helps Carnelian clean up.

"I like it. I feel important." he muses before Emerald arrives with tears in his eyes. He then carefully puts John on the ground. The other two gasp at the sight as they are quick to be at his side.

"How did this happen? How can we fix it?!" Emerald asks as Rhodonite fidgets with her hand in worry.

"Gems don't die of old age, but he's half human..." she says. John then reaches up towards Carnelian.

"My birthday crown..." he wheezes. Carnelian puts the crown on his head as they look on with hope. "I guess there's no more birthday magic left..." John sighs. The gems look at each other and start recreating things from his birthday, but each time they did, he got worse. Carnelian walks over to John and stares down at him for a moment. He then picks John up and shakes him a bit violently. "CARNELIAN!!" Emerald and Rhodonite yell in shock. He stops and sets him down gently.

"I thought that maybe violence would be the answer this time..." he says softly. The gems soon start bickering. John opens his eyes and sees this.

"Will you three STOP FIGHTING?!" John says as he stands up as an adult. The gems look at him shocked. He becomes an awkward teenager and says "I'm sorry for yelling..."

"John! Your gem in reacting to your state of mind!" Carnelian says.

"Stop feeling OLD." Emerald yells.

"But we have so little time..." John says as an old man.

"John! You're so kind and caring! That's why you'd do these parties for us?"  
"Really?"  
"YES!" The three gems said together. John soon came back to his same self with a bright smile. The three bring him into a tight group hug.

 

  
"Thanks, John..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will feature the first fusion of Gem Glow! Stay tuned!


End file.
